The Gardener Magazine1 min read
Your Rose Garden
‘Fragonard’ is an early flowering variety that has won several awards for the best-perfumed rose. The deep-cupped pink flowers produce a perfume with a top note of grapefruit and heart notes of intense apricot on a base note of mango. The sturdy, sho
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) Replant List
Many of you have heard of or read about the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), an invasive ambrosia beetle which emerged as a major threat to trees across South Africa. PSHB tunnels into the trees, establishing galleries in which it breeds. It carri
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
LUNAR Gardening Guide
Lunar gardeners report that the Last Quarter phase suitsclearing and weeding, as these are easier and more effective then, particularly near the Dark moon as the "soil prep" days follow. Thereafter, note the semi-fertile days to plant leafy brassicas
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
Botanical Tales
Corpse flowers, known botanically as Amorphophallus, along with several other members of the arum lily family (Araceae) have evolved the uncanny ability to heat their reproductive organs to lure pollinators into becoming non-consenting pollen carrier
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
Craft A Fin-tastic Table
• Woodoc Gel Stain (Adriatic Blue) • Woodoc Water-Borne FLOOR (Clear, Matt) • Fine Sandpaper • Paint brush and tray • Clean old rags • Table legs (these are supplied with a M8 screw already embedded) • Furniture nuts • We drew a fish shape onto an of
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
BRIMMING With Succulents
A ceramic pot like this one is a tricky one to come by, so I went to my ceramic mentor and asked her to design one for me so I could cascade a selection of succulents and make a pot that is different and interesting. • Carved ceramic pot or broken po
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
Dirt DIARIES
‘The Gardener’ is a real source of knowledge and inspiration for me every month! I enjoy, devour and save every edition. The succulent Christmas tree was my December inspiration and I enjoyed it so much. Here is my version. Regards, Mariëtte Eckard H
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
From Seed To Sauté
A bumper harvest of sweet peppers needs 30 minutes in the kitchen to turn them into a tasty relish that can be bottled and kept for up to 3 months in the refrigerator. Use it to add to soups and stews, with a cheeseboard or just smeared on a sandwich
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
Gregarious Beauties
Among the 23 species indigenous to South Africa, Nerine bowdenii is the most widely cultivated as an ornamental. The leaves are light green and strap-like and tall flower stems carry lightly-scented bright pink flowers that resemble finely cut lilies
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
Chervil
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is one of the lesser-known culinary herbs, but did you know that in medieval times it was prized as the ‘finest salade herbe’, even being listed as an essential ingredient in 15th-century manuscripts? Chervil is a hard
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
What To Do Now
According to The Garden Media Trends Report 2024, the colour of the year is Cyber Lime: “A punchy near-neon that exerts and energises the body and mind”. Well, the golden pothos or sweetheart vine, a trailing houseplant with heart-shaped leaves in br
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
In The Garden With Tanya
Loosen the clump from its perch on a piece of wood and gently pull the rosettes apart. If needed, use secateurs to cut them loose from each other. Remove old, dried growth to clean them up. Cut old stockings up in strips to tie your divisions onto ne
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
The Gardener Magazine
Editor Tanya Visser Assistant Editor Anna Celliers Features Editor Wendy Moulton Process and Operations Manager Cindy May Wang Design Gillian O’Donoghue, Wendy Moulton, Creative Media Innovator Izolda van der Merwe Internal Brands Manager Stephani Gr
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
LOVELY ‘Louise’
Seen at selected nurseries recently is a new photinia with colourful markings and variegation. Photinia x fraseri ‘Louise’ is a large evergreen shrub with a dense habit and glossy, elliptic to lance-shaped leaves. The very striking young shoots are i
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
Climate Resilient Gardens
Rand Water’s support for homeowners and communities in becoming responsible water consumers is ongoing. This is demonstrated, in part, by its Water Wise brand. Beyond educating on various facets of water conservation, the brand delves into pioneering
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
Garden GALLERIA
A lightweight and compact design increases efficiency and reduces fatigue in the Worx 20V Turbine Leaf Blower WG547E.9. It takes cordless blowers to a new level with turbine technology that can do everything from sweeping the driveway and path to pil
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
SAUCY Beggarticks
• Compact and mounded growth habits suitable for small spaces – mature size not much bigger than 30 x 30cm. • Carefree perennials (or annuals in cold climates) with deeply lobed, dark green ferny foliage and a willingness to bloom heartily, creating
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
A Place In The Sun For Vincas
Whether you have a space in the garden or a container vincas will fulfil a purpose. Glossy green leaves and a huge choice in flower colour. They also have a long flowering season right through summer until the end of autumn. • Full sun to semi-shade.
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
CARDINAL FLOWERS For Boggy Spots
If the edges near your water feature, the eco pool’s water filtration bed, or any boggy area needs some colour, come aboard with ‘Starship’. The tall and stately Lobelia x speciosa is a garden cultivar bred from two veld flower species L. cardinalis
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
Welcome
“Do what you please, follow your own star; be original if you want to be and don’t if you don’t want to be”, is a famous quote by Constance Spry, the colourful, rule breaker (love this) and creative who rocked the gardening world and high society in
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
A PLACE TO Call Home
In a quiet nook of Boksburg on the East Rand, a small townhouse garden has undergone a remarkable transformation, turning it into a contemporary, tropical paradise. Under the expert guidance of Chris Lamprecht from Kingfisher Landscaping, this garden
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
MAKE MORE Cape primroses
Indigenous Streptocarpus or Cape primroses are very pretty houseplants and easy-to-grow flowering plants for dappled shade areas in the garden. It takes just a leaf or two from a healthy plant to propagate more of these rewarding plants. Signs of new
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
Subscribe And Win!
NEW! SUBSCRIPTION DEAL! Subscribe to The Gardener for 1 year, pay R49 monthly and SAVE 30% Subscribe for an entire year, but enjoy the convenience of monthly payments. This deal only applies when purchasing subscriptions online. www.thegardener.co.za
The Gardener Magazine4 min read
Pelargonium Cuttings
• 8cm plastic pots or seed trays (cleaned very well with soapy water) • A palm peat brick, hydrated in water • Coarse river sand or fine grit • Rooting hormone powder for softwood cuttings • Clean secateurs or a sharp knife • A dibber or old pencil •
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
BLACK Is Beautiful!
Editor Tanya Visser invested in a range of black pots by Addis and planted them up with her choice of plants to show us just how sleek and stylish they can be if used as focal points in the right setting. • High-quality plastic in matt black. • Light
The Gardener Magazine1 min read
Formal Flair
‘Little Gem’ is a very sleek little tree of about 6-8m high, bearing the most beautiful and delicate, fragrant white flowers which can be 12-15cm in diameter throughout late summer and autumn. This evergreen’s foliage is equally elegant and large, in
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
All-purpose, Alluring AGAVES
Few plants are as bold and dramatic as agaves to add textural accents and focal points to a garden. As there are many different species of agave, it makes sense to choose the right ones for your garden. Mexico is home to over 270 types of agaves with
The Gardener Magazine2 min read
CALANDIVA ‘Else’
A variety of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, this plant is known for its compact growth and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, these great succulents are easy to grow in the right conditions. The best position in the home for ‘Else’ is one with
The Gardener Magazine5 min read
The Holiday
I cannot remember which band sang this old song, but the words kept milling in my head like an earworm while a deep and dark sinking feeling descended into my heart and tummy. After intense hours of gathering belongings strewn all over the house and
The Gardener Magazine3 min read
Heroines of HORTICULTURE
FLORAL DECORATOR, WRITER, COOK AND EDUCATOR Constance Spry, rule-breaker and legendary British floral decorator was born in England and educated in Ireland. During her early career, she worked for the Irish Women’s National Health Association, where
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